Well, this isn’t a trick question. The easiest way to pick a profitable niche for an emoji app is look at what’s already successful and come up with something better. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel here. That advice can be taken on a micro or macro level.

MACRO EXAMPLE:

Do I have an existing emoji app that’s in a popular niche, but I can’t stand out?

If this is the case, then you need to something different and exciting that will get be excited. Something that can be buzz worthy. Traditional emoji apps are great, but we found from asking our users across multiple niches, is people like to customize. They want to add little accessories to the emojis. They want to add backgrounds so when they share it stands out. One last request was adding captions.

So we go from a traditional emoji app like this >

To a custom emoji and caption builder app like this >

MICRO EXAMPLE.

You can find an emoji app in a profitable niche by looking at the charts for a few days and seeing what stays at the top. Then you can go over to appannie or my TopAppCharts and see it’s ranking history.

After you find something that has clear demand then you can pour through the reviews and see what users are complaining about. Go through the app and designs yourself.

Are the emojis bad?

Do they look burry when you send them?

Do they only give access to 20 emojis instead of 100?

Do users want new specific emoji packs?

Are users complaining about crashes or compatibility issues with iPad Pro or iPhone X?

When they send an emoji, does messenger crash?

You get the point. This is basic stuff and because it’s basic, people ignore it after a certain amount of success. Fundamental principles are having an app people want is finding out what they want (proving demand) and giving it to them at a price they are willing to pay. On my MACRO example above, I took a niche I knew people where interested in emoji apps because that first traditional emoji app generated over 20k in revenue (android not shown).

I knew they wanted more customization for emojis so I built an entirely new app to support that request and added a ton more features.

That doesn’t have to be you. You don’t have to built a new app over 4 months with 46 iterations.

I have three options below that explain what might be best for you.

1.) IF YOU DON’T ALREADY HAVE AN EMOJI APP > Choose a niche you already know and have had some experience in. It doesn’t have to be emoji related, just a niche where people are willing to pay for something. Then see if emoji apps are doing well in that niche. If they are, then check those out and see how you can improve upon them. Get a standard emoji app template (email me if you need one), and move forward with that process.

2.) IF YOU DO ALREADY HAVE EMOJI APP(S) > Stand out by using your existing designs or ideas to publish an emoji builder app using our project that includes a ton of design assets. You just input your emojis and then they are ready to be customized. You can add in new layers, backgrounds and fonts if desired, but it’s not necessary for a first version. You will now launch this new app in a niche you already have existing customers in. You probably have a Facebook group, maybe an email list, Facebook data to run ads to this niche and so on.

Compared to a standard emoji app, here is what you would be bringing to the table for your users. Emoji builder with custom accessories, background maker, caption maker and the ability to send emojis 3 ways! So, it’s safe to say you will a leg up on the competition in your niche.

3.) IF YOU DO ALREADY HAVE AN EMOJI APP, BUT WANT A NEW NICHE > See what has dominated the charts this year and what is still there. You can zero in on what type of niche to go after. Every popular niche emoji app that you have either had or seen hit the top of it’s category is up for grabs. The kind of apps that have generated awesome revenue. I don’t mean taking their actual app, but the niche! I’m talking about using the validation of these apps and creating your own version that is waaayyyy cooler than standard pre-made emojis. A lot of these popular niches keep organically growing over time and they just want something new, but still in their realm of what’s cool. Do you see what I’m saying? Using the data from this years poplar emoji niches you can create an app no other developers have access to and retarget those popular audiences.

Summary: Easily accessible validation data + High demand + Unfair advantage using a project that only a handful of developers have = Win. S, high demand with low completion. Sounds pretty awesome to me!

Publishing emoji builder app like ours is crazy fun + cheap on the design side (even if you have no existing emoji apps). If you do have an emoji apps it’s practically free.

Everyone loves (emojis) and make them better. Niche emoji apps dominated the app store this year and the overall demand doesn’t seem to be letting up. People still love emojis, they just want more. Apple is in full support, especially with on the iMessage side. It’s sooo easy and quick to navigate through your options (see image below)

More visual customization (emoji builders)

More custom audio / visual customization (Animojis on iPhone X)

Digital Touch Messages

Searchable GIFS

More pre-made animated / gifs

More more more!

Most emoji builders out there are owned by huge companies and the worst part is…they’re out of date. Users are loosing content because updates wipe out data, the designs are dated, and themes are very blaaa.

Big companies are also slower to react to customer requests and some are flat out abandoning apps because they didn’t build them to update frequently. Being a smaller company we don’t have those issues.

All without LEAVING the app. We took a lot of cool features people love to use in multiple apps and gave them ability to do it quicker in one app.

If you are focusing on a niche within the app store, let’s say Dalmatian dogs. There might be a Dalmatian dog emoji app, but there sure isn’t any that can put cool layers like hats and bowties. Getting an edge like this is crucial for your app companies growth and survival in 2018.